Inside the Dirty, Dystopian World of AI Data Centers
News ClipThe Atlantic·Memphis, Shelby County, TN·3/13/2026
This story discusses the data center 'Colossus' operated by xAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, in southwest Memphis, Tennessee. The data center requires massive amounts of electricity to power its AI model training, potentially consuming as much power as the entire city of Seattle. The facility has built its own on-site natural gas power plant, raising environmental concerns from local advocacy groups about air pollution and energy consumption.
electricityenvironmental
xAI
As we drove through southwest Memphis, KeShaun Pearson told me to keep my window down—our destination was best tasted, not viewed. Along the way, we passed an abandoned coal plant to our right, then an active power plant to our left, equipped with enormous natural-gas turbines. Pearson, who directs